SilverStone USB/SATA Peripheral Roundup (MS07, EP01, EP02)

SilverStone USB/SATA Periperhal Roundup (MS07/EP01/EP02)

SilverStone are probably best known for their range of high quality cases, such as the Raven series which we covered recently. They also offer a range of coolers which offer some nice design aspects and have over time been branching out into smaller peripherals/items. Today we are taking a look at three USB/SATA based items from SilverStone which look to offer a solution to a few common problems; cheap portable storage and lack of USB ports.

Packaging and Bundle

SilverStone offer a range of different packaging for the devices we are reviewing today but all have one thing in common. A decent view of the product, whether that is through a window or via a picture on the box.

The drive case has no bundled items, the SATA adapter, a USB 3.0 to 2x USB 3.0 cable (power/data) and the USB hub has separate USB 3.0 and power cables. Lets take a look at the devices themselves.

SST-MS07

The SilverStone SST-MS07 is a compact sillicon rubber chassis which sits around a 2.5″ drive making it portable. We simply slide the drive into the 72x18x115mm cover via a slot in the front and our connectors are available at the back of the 63g unit. Nice and simple (and it has a 1-year warranty)

We could then, as one example, connect the drive to a USB to SATA dock and begin using it as portable storage which is protected from knocks. Speaking of docks…

SST-EP02

The SilverStone SST-EP02B is a compact USB 3.0 to SATA adapter which plugs into any SATA device and turns it into a USB compatible product. The front edge of this plastic device has our SATA power and data connectors and on the back an optional (12v DC) power input along with the USB 3.0 connector. It is recommended we use the extra power connector for 3.5″ mechanical drives whereas 2.5″ models should receive enough power over the USB 3.0 cable which ends in two USB ports. Our adapter weighs 20g and measures 76x16x29mm making it very compact.

We can of course plug the SST-EP02 into our PC directly or via a hub…

SST-EP01

For those who are struggling for USB ports on their system, including 3.0 spec connectors, the EP01 takes one port and splits it into four with blue LED inicators. This is a plastic hub measuring 71.6×63.3×19.5mm and weighing 65g. On four of the devices six faces we have standard USB 3.0 spec ports and on the other two a 5V DC input along with USB micro connector. Interestingly it also has a magnet inside which means it can be attached to metal surfaces… a nice touch.

So how do the devices perform?

Overall we see some good USB performance from the SST-EP02 and EP01. Read speeds in excess of 350MB/s are great for USB based devices and write nearing 300MB/s is also good. Of course the limitations of USB mean we are not quite at the speed of a true SATA device however we are well in excess of USB 2.0 speeds (which these are backwards compatible with) of 35MB/s read/write.

Overall each of the devices does exactly what we would want. One offers protection, the other lets us turn any spare drive into portable storage and the third gives us extra high speed USB ports with fast charging capability.

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